MY TESTIMONY: Salvation 101

[ellisbrasher]

RICKO>>""“So, what happens to an adult (say in the Amazon) who dies and has never even heard of Jesus?”""

Sorry for the delay; I just returned from a 3-day 400 mile trip to CC, Tx to the 55th Annual Coastal Bend AA Jamboree; Jan 14th of 2009 was my 47th AA birthday; One Day At A Time.

Thanks for your reply and question; I believe God’s Love and Grace is FREE to all that simply acknowledge that there is a Higher Power than themselves even tho they may have never seen or heard the words of the Holy Bible. Such was the case of the American Indians who had never seen or heard as much, yet we know they acknowledged and spoke of the Great Spirit.

I suspect you already knew the answer, but anyhow one could check the below Scripture:
Romans 1:18-20, Job 12: 7-9, Pslam 19: 1-6.

 

[ellisbrasher]

MATTHEW 18:20 “For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst.”
JOHN 14:6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
John 6:44 “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day.”

The last of the above verses unequivocally states that a person is only saved at the urging of the Holy Spirit and which is the Holy Spirit of the Father.

REV. 3:5 "He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.
REV. Chapter 13 speaks of the “beast” which is symbolic of the “antichrist” and significant is verse 8.
REV. 13:8 “All who dwell upon the earth will worship him, whose names are not written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.”
This verse indicates that people’s names are entered in the Lambs Book during their life and when would be a more logical time than at the time they accept Jesus Christ.
REV. 21:27 “But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.”

Are there any verses that refute the clear and simple message of the above?

Recently while in the waiting room at a TRINITY MOTHER FRANCIS HOSPITAL, I glanced thru a few verses of scripture of their catholic bible and noted they had changed the way verse of Rev. 13 : 8 reads so that it indicates that “names” are written “from the foundation of the world”. The King James version reads as I noted above and I believe the verse is saying that God’s “plan of salvation” required the perfect sacrifice of The Lamb and the “plan” was from the foundation of the world.

 

[ellisbrasher]

ROMAN_CATHOLIC>>"""I think sometimes the use of the term ‘Evangelical Christian’ is appropriate. I have and do evangelize and I am a Christian, however, I do not consider myself an ‘evangelical Christian’.

By the way I share a similar story as yours, however mine did not carry on as long as yours did. I was lost in my sins during my teenage and into my college years. I was saved by the Grace of God in a college setting that was the pit of liberalism and humanism. As soon as I was convinced of my sins and my need of God, I was immediately repentant and led by the Holy Spirit into His Church."""

If you are a Christian and you do evangilize it would seem that you are fearful of being referred to as evangelical as if there is a stigma attached. I am very glad that I am an evangelical Christian and I think God is also glad.
I am very happy for you that you found your salvation while in college. Forgive my presumption, but assuming you were baptized at the time of birth, why would you not believe you were already saved?

 

[Roman_Catholic_1]

Forgive my presumption, but assuming you were baptized at the time of birth, why would you not believe you were already saved?

Because I had turned away from God, rejected His Grace and was living in sin.

God bless

 

[ellisbrasher]

Because I had turned away from God, rejected His Grace and was living in sin.

God bless

I am very sure there will be people in heaven from all walks of life and all the different denominations, groups or even state religions they may be born into.
I don’t think the Holy Spirit cares the color of skin, language or anything other than the heart of a person.
But I strongly believe a person is saved only at the urging/prompting of the Spirit. The Bible makes this very clear.
I give praise to God and the Spirit for yours and my salvation and as per Rev. 3:5 our names will never be blotted out.
You know before my accepting the salvation of Jesus Christ my conscience never bothered me when I committed a sin; I simply looked for another place and time to sin.
Now when I happen to commit what might be percieved as a tiny sin it bothers me until I ask God to forgive. And of course there is no such thing as a “tiny” sin in God’s eyes, sin is sin. And I know God is eager to forgive if I ask.
Thank you RC and may God bless you and yours.